Popular Sheffield pub explains why mobile phones and card machines are now banned

A popular pub in Sheffield has reopened – but customers are banned from using mobile phones inside.
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The Cow and Calf in Grenoside, which had been shut since 2018, is serving punters once again although using your phone could see you chucked out.

Staff say the decision was made by their brewery – Samuel Smith pubs.

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Last year it was reported Humphrey Smith, the owner of the brewery which has more than 200 establishments, sent a memo to managers ordering them to prevent customers from using devices inside the premises. And in 2017 the chain also banned swearing in its pubs. Laptops and tablets are also banned under their strict rules, and pubs are not allowed to play music or televisions.

A man finishes a pint (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)A man finishes a pint (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
A man finishes a pint (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

These policies were introduced in order to ensure the brewery maintained a "traditional, uncompromisingly Victorian aesthetic," the company said.

"The brewery's policy is that out pubs are for social conversation person to person.”

Any customers using their phones inside The Cow and Calf will be asked to step outside. The pub also operates a cash only policy.

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Commenting on the news, one man wrote: “No card machine, no phone rule! Fail to prepare, prepare to fail! It’s 2020.”

While another person said the brewery had “cut their own noses off” with the rule. They wrote: “Phones would also boost the publicity (in a positive way) with posts like this, reviews, photos and check ins.”

Another said: “My 95-year-old dad won't come in as he won't be allowed to phone me to pick him up.”

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